My latest article, ‘Lex Specialis as a Reason-Giving Norm: Balancing Norm Specificity and Individual Rights in Times of Crisis’, is now available in International Community Law Review (Vol. 27, 2025).
At the heart of this piece is a computational reasoning framework that reinterprets lex specialis—not as a rigid trump card, but as a defeasible, reason-giving norm.
Why is this important?
Conflicts between general international law and special regimes (e.g. environmental, trade, investment, or humanitarian law) are intensifying. Too often, lex specialis is invoked as a shortcut, automatically prioritising one norm without assessing its normative weight in context.
This article offers a structured alternative: a reasoning model that shows how lex specialis provides reasons that may be outweighed by stronger considerations—such as protecting individual rights or advancing climate justice.
The model is also computationally implementable.
I have built an initial model representation of norm conflicts and legal reasoning. I hope this approach opens new possibilities for transparency and accountability in legal decision-making—especially where fragmented regimes collide.
In the face of the polycrisis, we need tools that help courts and practitioners reason with complexity, not bypass it.
Available Open Access at:
https://brill.com/view/journals/iclr/27/3/article-p218_3.xml
With thanks to the Maastricht University Faculty of Law Science Committee for supporting this research, and to the Globalization and Law Network Maastricht (GLaw-Net).
Henrique Marcos 